How Mercedes team boss Toto Wolff assesses the Formula 1 balance of power in 2025 and what he expects of his team at the season-opener in Melbourne
Where does Mercedes stand with the W16 compared to the Formula 1 competition? This is still “difficult to say” for team boss Toto Wolff a few days before the 2025 season opener in Melbourne, Australia, as he explains in an ORF interview.
“I’m a pessimist by nature: the glass is half empty, not half full,” says Wolff. That’s why he’s not expecting too much from the first Grand Prix of the year: “If we were to be in the running for the podium at the front, that would be a great success. But at the moment that’s not entirely clear.”
The Formula One winter tests in Bahrain did not provide a clear picture of the new balance of power. “You have to be careful because Bahrain, with its rough asphalt, is very different from most other tracks,” says Wolff.
In addition, the temperatures were “as low as never before” in the Sachir Desert during the test drives a few days ago. This could have distorted the test results.
What Wolff still wants to have recognized: “Four teams are pretty much on a par on a fast lap. And I would like to see if we can consolidate our performance.”
Because at least in qualifying, Wolff sees Mercedes well positioned. In race trim, however, McLaren is “clearly ahead with both cars,” says the team boss. In his perception, world championship title defender Max Verstappen is in third place, followed by “us and Ferrari just behind,” says Wolff.
This assessment differs from the official timekeeping of the Formula 1 winter tests in Bahrain, in which Williams driver Carlos Sainz set the best time of 1:20.348 minutes. George Russell came in fourth in this result, 0.585 seconds behind, behind both Ferraris. Formula 1 newcomer Andrea Kimi Antonellli was another two-tenths of a second behind in seventh place overall in the tests.
However, this is only a snapshot, emphasizes Wolff: “In Melbourne and then in Shanghai, everything could be different again. Because we have different tracks and different conditions there.”
